Swish: Analyzing the "3 to See's" first all-star ballot

[pap49cba]

"Diggins has held her own as a starter in this league as rookie, but right now she is the furthest of the "3 to See" from being a superstar."

Link

 

[easttexastrash]

Can't open the link. )-:]

 

[pap49cba]

Sorry... fixed (I think).

 

[easttexastrash]

BG lost a lot of votes with her statements about her time at Baylor. There are MANY Baylor fans who would have voted for BG who have washed their hands of her. If you look at the Baylor board it is obvious. One fan went as far as to say that BG is dead to her.

 

[UcMiami]

BG lost a lot of votes with her statements about her time at Baylor. There are MANY Baylor fans who would have voted for BG who have washed their hands of her. If you look at the Baylor board it is obvious. One fan went as far as to say that BG is dead to her.

I was following that thread for a while and contributed a few times. I found it very interesting to see the splits in the fan community reactions - to be expected and would probably have been similar splits within any fan community, just variations in pro/anti percentages. Baylor has certainly not had an easy time this off season!

 

[rocky rococo]

It was easily predictable (and I did so right here) that EDD would have the outstanding rookie season of the "Three". The other two are at the most difficult, longest-term development positions in the transition from college to pro, PG and C. EDD doesn't face those changes, simply has to get used to the greater speed, strength and athleticism of the WNBA, as do Griner and Diggins, but they have to make that adjustment on top of more fundamental changes.

 

[easttexastrash]

It was easily predictable (and I did so right here) that EDD would have the outstanding rookie season of the "Three". The other two are at the most difficult, longest-term development positions in the transition from college to pro, PG and C. EDD doesn't face those changes, simply has to get used to the greater speed, strength and athleticism of the WNBA, as do Griner and Diggins, but they have to make that adjustment on top of more fundamental changes.

I'm still not sure where EDD is out performing BG since BG is averaging more points, rebounds and blocks per minute played and is shooting almost a full 20% better from the field than EDD. BG's only issue is that she has been limited to almost 26 minutes a game due to her knee injury. If she were playing 33 minutes a game like EDD she would be averaging more points than EDD and the conversation would be much different. But, the one stat that everyone focuses one is points per game. It will be interesting to see how BG performs as her knee heals and she gets more PT.

However, I will say that EDD has been asked to do a lot more for her team and I am thoroughly impressed and she would get my vote as ROY. She is a tremendous talent and I look forward to tracking the progress of both her and BG.

 

[Jackalope]

It was easily predictable (and I did so right here) that EDD would have the outstanding rookie season of the "Three". The other two are at the most difficult, longest-term development positions in the transition from college to pro, PG and C. EDD doesn't face those changes, simply has to get used to the greater speed, strength and athleticism of the WNBA, as do Griner and Diggins, but they have to make that adjustment on top of more fundamental changes.

I think EDD said it best during a sideline interview in one of the early Sky games. In college she would be double and triple teamed on every play. In the WNBA she gets single coverage where it is easier to leverage her athleticism and skills.

 

[UcMiami]

It is also interesting to think about the situation each player faced coming in - I think SD had the toughest situation in Tulsa since that team has been pretty dysfunctional for a number of years. BG and Phoenix both had to figure out how they wanted to play - adjustment for players and coach and it took a few weeks to adjust. EDD came into a pretty good team that didn't change to accommodate her, and where she didn't need to adjust her game to fit in. I think the early returns for the 3 reflect those realities - first couple of weeks EDD's production was far superior to the other two and her team was winning. The recent results are more evenly distributed - Phoenix has figured it out, and Tulsa while still not a great team doesn't seem quite so much of a basket case. They also have Cambage back so maybe they will not be at quite such a talent deficit in the second half of the season.

 

[snlMINAJ]

I'm still not sure where EDD is out performing BG since BG is averaging more points, rebounds and blocks per minute played and is shooting almost a full 20% better from the field than EDD. BG's only issue is that she has been limited to almost 26 minutes a game due to her knee injury. If she were playing 33 minutes a game like EDD she would be averaging more points than EDD and the conversation would be much different. But, the one stat that everyone focuses one is points per game. It will be interesting to see how BG performs as her knee heals and she gets more PT.

However, I will say that EDD has been asked to do a lot more for her team and I am thoroughly impressed and she would get my vote as ROY. She is a tremendous talent and I look forward to tracking the progress of both her and BG.

please calm down, i dont think its realistic to base everything on per 40 minutes.
if BG plays 10-15 more minutes a game, shes likely to maybe commit more fouls, or miss more shots, or turn the ball over more.

 

[EricLA]

I think it's fair to say that EDD has had the biggest impact of the 3, partly because she is on a team with lots of strengths so not as much focus is solely on her, and partly because her size and position makes her a matchup nightmare in the pros. Oh, and partly cuz she's really good. I expected EDD to have the best season and the other 2 to struggle at times.

Struggle because as others have said, the 1 and 5 positions are the toughest in the pros. Both Diggins and Griner have had some terrific games, and some forgettable ones. But both are learning tons and IMHO both will be all stars, along with EDD, and all will be future Olympians.

 

[easttexastrash]

please calm down, i dont think its realistic to base everything on per 40 minutes.
if BG plays 10-15 more minutes a game, shes likely to maybe commit more fouls, or miss more shots, or turn the ball over more.

I'm pretty calm and was pretty calm when I made the post. You will know when I'm not calm.

And, IMO, per minute stats are pretty reliable when it come to this situation. BG is averaging more rebounds and block in 26 minutes vs 33 minutes and is averaging only 3 fewer points. I contend that if BG averaged 7 - 10 more minutes a game that she would easily be scoring more points a game.

Would BG's shooting percentage drop in more minutes? I doubt it since she is shooting the same percentage she shot her senior year in college. It has wavered none.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think it's fair to say that EDD has had the biggest impact of the 3, partly because she is on a team with lots of strengths so not as much focus is solely on her, and partly because her size and position makes her a matchup nightmare in the pros. Oh, and partly cuz she's really good. I expected EDD to have the best season and the other 2 to struggle at times.

Struggle because as others have said, the 1 and 5 positions are the toughest in the pros. Both Diggins and Griner have had some terrific games, and some forgettable ones. But both are learning tons and IMHO both will be all stars, along with EDD, and all will be future Olympians.

Maybe you can point out where BG is struggling. Is it the 15.5 points and league leading blocks average in only 26 minutes a game or the near 62% FG shooting?

 

[Icebear]

Her skateboarding is really slipping.

 

[Coler]

Yeah, it's nice to compare stats right now, but let's see who hits that rookie wall harder.

I'm pleasantly surprised that EDD is leading All-Star voters overall, and she's leading "The 3 to see" in endorsement deals. Because I'm sure almost everyone thought it would have been BG or Diggins doing that. Go EDD!

 

[easttexastrash]

Yeah, it's nice to compare stats right now, but let's see who hits that rookie wall harder.

I'm pleasantly surprised that EDD is leading All-Star voters overall, and she's leading "The 3 to see" in endorsement deals. Because I'm sure almost everyone thought it would have been BG or Diggins doing that. Go EDD!

I think that by playing only 26 minutes a game that BG is going to have more left in the tank at the end of the year. It may prevent her from being the ROY but may set her up to have the biggest impact in the playoffs.

EDD and Diggins will both get more endorsement deals than BG because they fit the mold of what most Americans want to see in a female athlete: athletic and femininely attractive. But BG is the most handsome of the three.

 

[UCONNfan1]

Maybe you can point out where BG is struggling. Is it the 15.5 points and league leading blocks average in only 26 minutes a game or the near 62% FG shooting?

Struggling in several areas. First, on knowing where to be on offense and defense at all times. Second, 4 out of her 11 games have been 11 points or less, and only 2 have been over 20 points. Third, she averaged over 20 PPG during her career in college and is just over 15 PPG in the pros. Fourth, she averaged about 9+ RPG in college and is at about 6 RPG in the pros. Fifth, she's only a rookie and has certainly shown improvement but certainly isn't dominating the league. Lastly, her numbers are very similar to Tina Charles' rookie season, and Tina certainly "struggled" at times,which is what was said. Not that she is continuously "struggling" in the league.

I'm not sure why you take umbrage to the term "struggling" since it's something literally every single rookie has encountered, even the greatest ones... Most would agree that Griner has a very high ceiling, is probably a future Olympian, and will do a lot of great things in the pros. But she's only a rookie... and yes, at times she's struggled.

 

[easttexastrash]

Struggling in several areas. First, on knowing where to be on offense and defense at all times. Second, 4 out of her 11 games have been 11 points or less, and only 2 have been over 20 points. Third, she averaged over 20 PPG during her career in college and is just over 15 PPG in the pros. Fourth, she averaged about 9+ RPG in college and is at about 6 RPG in the pros. Fifth, she's only a rookie and has certainly shown improvement but certainly isn't dominating the league. Lastly, her numbers are very similar to Tina Charles' rookie season, and Tina certainly "struggled" at times,which is what was said. Not that she is continuously "struggling" in the league.

I'm not sure why you take umbrage to the term "struggling" since it's something literally every single rookie has encountered, even the greatest ones... Most would agree that Griner has a very high ceiling, is probably a future Olympian, and will do a lot of great things in the pros. But she's only a rookie... and yes, at times she's struggled.

Based on your statistical requirements basically every player in the WNBA is struggling. EDD averaged 26.5 points and 8.9 rebounds a game and is only averaging 18.8 points and 6.0 rebounds a game in 33 minutes per game (same as at UD) in the WNBA so would you say that she is struggling?

You simply cannot compare BG's stats to her college career as she is only averaging 25.7 minutes a game due to injury. It's hard to dominate when you are limited in playing time, and also when you are playing next to the leading scorer in the league. And you mention Charles, who I would consider to be struggling more than BG as she is shooting 38.3% from the field, compared to BG's 61.6. Based on per minute, if BG were playing the same number of minutes as Charles she would be averaging 20.6 points, compared to Charles' 19.1.

Even Maya Moore has "struggled" during games this year having had games where she shot 18.8%, 16.6%, 33.3%, 35% and 33.3%. I would not consider her to be "struggling" this year, but has at times "struggled."

I don't consider either BG or EDD to be struggling. Diggins is a different story. She is definitely struggling but I would say that a PG has the biggest adjustment of any position. Maybe their stats are more scrutinized because they are two of the "3 to see" but I think that BG and EDD are playing on the same level as most of the veterans.